Service Learning Update: Hawks Inn Museum

This summer, the Material Culture Program at UW-Madison is sponsoring five undergraduate students at local historical societies and museums in the Madison area. The Summer Service Learners gain real-world work experience and put the skills they've learned in the classroom to practical use, and the host organizations receive help with projects they may not otherwise have the time, staff, or other resources to complete. In this post, Hadley Nelson describes the projects she's working on with the Hawks Inn Museum in Delafield, Wisconsin.

So far this summer I have been working on digitally recording and cataloging the many objects at Hawks Inn. I started my work with the Fireplace Kitchen room and have since then completed recording all the objects in the Fireplace Kitchen as well as in the Buttery and Hawks' Office. After I have taken all the images for each room, I then organize the pictures to correspond with descriptions that are provided by the museum's curator, Jim Babcock, in an Excel spreadsheet. From these sessions with Jim, I have learned some fascinating uses of objects as well as how people were living in the mid-nineteenth century in Wisconsin. For example, one of my favorite objects is a green chair that is easily converted into a bench that was made in 1850 (see below). 

I also really enjoy the many "make-do" objects present at the Inn. These are pieces that are a combination of two or more objects that had been broken and are now used together to create a new and beautiful piece like this old porcelain vase (below) atop a "make-do" wooden base! I have begun work in the Family Bedroom and am excited to learn about the objects in that room next.

In addition to the inventory I am helping with at Hawks Inn, I have also been working on a first person narrative. This narrative, told from the point of view of Fannie Hawks (one of Mr. Hawks' daughters), will eventually serve as a guided tour through the Inn upon completion. This project has so far taught me a great deal about the Hawks family (including fun anecdotes about their pet raccoon who acted much like a dog, learning tricks and following the family around) as well as life in Wisconsin and California (as the Hawks later moved to California) during the nineteenth century. The project is still in the drafting stage, but will be completed by the end of the summer!

--Hadley Nelson

Service Learning Update: Recollection Wisconsin

This summer, the Material Culture Program at UW-Madison is sponsoring five undergraduate students at local historical societies and museums in the Madison area. The Summer Service Learners gain real-world work experience and put the skills they've learned in the classroom to practical use, and the host organizations receive help with projects they may not otherwise have the time, staff, or other resources to complete. In this post, Ally Hrkac reports on her work with Recollection Wisconsin, a statewide digital collection of historical resources.

I have been spending my summer as part of the Material Culture Service Learning project working with Recollection Wisconsin, developing features for the online site. I’ve enjoyed perusing multiple databases for old and unique photographs that are specific to Wisconsin. I’m thankful for the opportunity to create features that enhance my knowledge of our state and that are of interest to me and to the general public.

I like that this project has challenged me to frame history in a way that is new to me – why are we looking at these photos, and how are they relevant today? What kind of story does this collection of photos tell viewers? What is the common theme that threads all of these photos in the feature together? I have been working on shifting my writing to effectively answer these questions. The project is so much more that compiling a slideshow of photos – and so much more rewarding.

The first feature I wrote was about memoir writing. I looked at a variety of old documents – letters written by immigrants in Wisconsin to families abroad, wartime stories, environmentalist observations and reflections, memoirs about Wisconsin living – and was able to draw connections between these very different sources. I had to think realistically about why these people and historical figures wrote, and I also had to think about why we write today. I thought it was very neat to read writing from such a long time ago yet that is still relevant in this day and age. I am continuing to develop features that are meaningful and to which we can relate and reminisce.

I loved seeing my first feature after it went live on the Recollection Wisconsin site. I have a new appreciation for the writers, publishers, web designers, etc. who make these things possible. As a writer who works “off the field” for this service project, I find my desktop piling up with pages and pages of pictures, information, research, e-mails, and reference sites that help me along the process (see screen shot below).

Finally, I am currently working on integrating educational resources into the site for teachers to use Recollection Wisconsin in the classroom to meet the Common Core Standards. I just graduated UW-Madison with a degree in education, so I am very excited to be able to apply my area of study and my passion to my work with the site. I will be working on developing ideas for teachers to use the site, lesson plans, and ways to meet the Common Core.

Overall this has been a great experience – I love seeing the photos that represent our history as a state; I am learning so much and am proud to be working on spreading some Wisconsin knowledge.

--Ally Hrkac

Service Learning Update: Oregon Area Historical Society

This summer, the Material Culture Program at UW-Madison is sponsoring five undergraduate students at local historical societies and museums in the Madison area. The Summer Service Learners gain real-world work experience and put the skills they've learned in the classroom to practical use, and the host organizations receive help with projects they may not otherwise have the time, staff, or other resources to complete. In this post, Laura Sevelis shares what she's accomplished so far with the Oregon Area Historical Society in Oregon, Wisconsin.

As a summer service learner with the Material Culture program, I have been interning at the Oregon Area Historical Society (OAHS). I have spent most of my time working through their extensive textile collection, cataloging, assessing, and repacking each piece using the knowledge I gained during a recent internship at UW-Madison’s Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection.  Every day I work at the museum I look forward to going through a new box or clothing rack as its contents are always a surprise. I have seen everything from WWI and II military uniforms, beaded evening gowns, homespun quilts, wedding dresses, Boy Scout uniforms, infant christening gowns, silk scarves and pearl collars.

A display of women’s dresses and accessories in the OAHS Museum.

So far I’ve mostly been consolidating and inventorying the collection, but we’ve just received permission to purchase archival materials to properly store the pieces, so the next part of my project will be moving each piece from their less-than-ideal homes in cardboard boxes and plastic storage containers into uniform, clearly labeled boxes lined with tissue paper. I also hope to find the time to photograph at least part of the collection so that information can be added into the database and/or their website. By the end of the summer I will also have written up a brief handbook pertaining to the standards for the future care of the textiles.

A box of baby clothing and accessories. 

While at OAHS, I have also worked on other aspects of their collection, such as continuing their cataloging project of adding the past fifteen years worth of catalog cards on to their PastPerfect database so the museum staff can better monitor their collections, in addition to introducing patrons to the museum and helping them with research during its open hours, developing a database of local businesses since the town’s foundation, and the more practical, less glamorous job of cleaning the facility.

I think the most important idea that I have garnered from this experience is that local history matters. This may seem blindingly obvious to everyone else, but within my experience and education history has only been the monumental, big picture events and people - Christopher Columbus, the Battle of Lexington, Charles Darwin, Black Tuesday, the Battle of the Bulge - and I have failed to recognize the deep, interesting history in small communities like in Oregon and my own hometown. I have appreciated the stories I’ve heard while at OAHS, whether it was from veterans discussing their hardships, alumni searching through class photos to find their own face and talking about the “old days,” and people searching and pointing to their family’s prior homestead on plat maps. This internship has not only opened my eyes to the various tasks involved in a museum career, which I plan on pursuing, but also the rich history that each community, no matter how small, possesses.  

--Laura Sevelis

Service Learning Update: Collecting Oral Histories at Hawks Inn

This summer, the Material Culture Program at UW-Madison is sponsoring five undergraduate students at local historical societies and museums in the Madison area. The Summer Service Learners gain real-world work experience and put the skills they've learned in the classroom to practical use, and the host organizations receive help with projects they may not otherwise have the time, staff, or other resources to complete. In this post, Gianofer Fields reports on her project to document the experiences of local history volunteers, starting with the Hawks Inn Museum in Delafield, Wisconsin.

The thing that surprises me most about the time I’ve spent at Hawks Inn in Delafield Wisconsin is that I find myself still breaking one of my cardinal rules of material culture studies. I’m not supposed to judge, evaluate, or experience objects through my personal set of experiences. I’m supposed to greet every object I meet openly and without seeing it through my culture lens. While I am very conscious to avoid that mistake with objects, I’m constantly breaking that rule when it comes to people. I’m shocked when I meet people who don’t like chocolate. I can’t understand why anybody would rather watch golf than football or pass up candy for anything savory.

I digress.

The Inn was built in 1843 as a stagecoach stop for folks settling in Wisconsin and those seeking shelter on their way West. However, this missive is not about the building…it’s about the folks who keep it alive. The first time I spoke with lead volunteer Jim Babcock I was struck by the sound of his voice. It’s a mixture of soil, sawdust, and happiness. It sounds like history coming through a filter made out of an antique cheese grater. The man’s got some serious pipes, just right for story telling.

After our introductory pleasantries, I explained to Mr. Babcock that I was an independent radio producer with twenty plus years under my belt. When he asked me what my plan was for the summer learning project, I gleefully explained that I was on a mission to record his connections with the many objects, that when combined, create the Inn's historical narrative. I asked him to pick out three objects that he thought were crucial to telling the Inns story. Out of the three we would pick one, I’d record him talking about it and I would then…wait for it…teach him how to edit the tape himself. You know because EVERYBODY loves editing tape, right.

I can smell the hubris right now as I’m writing this. 

Anyway, Mr. Babcock didn’t flinch, bless his heart, and suggested that I attend the Inn's weekly Wednesday coffee clutch. That way I could meet all of the volunteers at once, go over the project, and get a feel for the place. We met in the meeting room next to the Inn. It looks like a giant dining room with a galley kitchen. Each of the long tables appeared to be held in place by Windsor kitchen chairs painted black. The brightness of the rooms paled in comparison to the smiles of the volunteers. These women are so vibrant; their glow denies their age. I would never be so boorish to reveal the number of years they have under their belts. However, I will say that they have been retired from their chosen professions for some time now and were thoroughly enjoying their Golden years.

When I walked in Mr. Babcock was talking about driving down Johnson Street passed the Presbyterian Church in Madison and finding a beautiful carpet cast out by students leaving town for the summer. “It’s still amazing to me how many beautiful things they throw away,” he said. Slightly changing his tune, he introduced me to the other volunteers and asked me to explain my reason for being there. I waxed on about my intention to record audio about the objects that help weave the Inn’s narrative. Mr. Babcock would be the voice of the Inn.

When I got to the part about teaching them to edit the audio, I could feel a shift in the room. While their smiles never dimmed, something changed.  So I asked “Would any of you be interested in learning how to edit the audio for the segment?”

No.

Not I don’t think so or probably not or any excuses about not having the time

It was a simple, sweet, and very direct no. It was a very real “What do you mean you don’t like chocolate?” moment. That wasn’t the only thing that changed the direction of my project. Mrs. Seltzer was talking about how much Delafield had changed since she and her husband moved to the area. The others chimed in, telling stories from their childhoods. They talked about places they remembered and more importantly, the questions they forgot to ask their parents, while they were still alive. The more I got to know them the more I realized that that my being there was bigger than things.

After writing this, I’ll plug in my audio editing equipment and finish editing the stories told to me by the volunteers. In the coming weeks you will hear from a woman who started her relationship by folding quilts and now gives guided tours of the Inn. You will hear from a woman who works in the gift shop and though she’s a little unsteady on her feet, comes to the Inn as much as possible. The woman who is in charge of the place will tell you how she got her start pulling weeds and identifying plants in the garden. Then there is Mr. Babcock who will spell bind you with a voice made of soil, sawdust, and happiness all filtered through an antique cheese grater.

--Gianofer Fields

Volunteer Mary Daniel tending flower beds at Hawks Inn.

 

Service Learning Update: Koshkonong Prairie Historical Society

This summer, the Material Culture Program at UW-Madison is sponsoring five undergraduate students at local historical societies and museums in the Madison area. The Summer Service Learners gain real-world work experience and put the skills they've learned in the classroom to practical use, and the host organizations receive help with projects they may not otherwise have the time, staff, or other resources to complete. In this post, Mara Champagne reports on her work with the Koshkonong Prairie Historical Society in Cambridge, Wisconsin.

This summer I have the pleasure to intern at the Koshkonong Prairie Historical Society. Koshkonong Prairie Historical Society, or KPHS, is located in an old brick school in Cambridge, Wisconsin. KPHS and the Cambridge Historical Society are both housed in the school and work together to create a diverse history of Cambridge and the surrounding towns. KPHS focuses on the Norwegian immigrants to the Koshkonong Prairie, a town that was never officially created. KPHS highlights iconic Norwegian arts like Rosemaling, displays motors engineered by Ole Evinrude, and showcases priceless illustrated bibles in Norwegian from the 1600s. KPHS is truly a hidden gem and a place where I have been able to combine both of my majors, Art History and Scandinavian Studies, in a way that I would not have thought possible.

My time at KPHS is spent doing many different tasks. KPHS is open twice a week, Wednesday and Saturday, from 12:30-3:00. During this time, I often serve as a docent to patrons and talk to them about my favorite pieces. I always make sure to show the patrons the Norwegian bibles from the 1600s. The bibles are unexpected pieces in the museum. The detail of the writing and the illustrations is incredible. While serving as a docent I have had the chance to meet children of important figures in Cambridge. KPHS has an exhibit on Dagmar Vesby, a missionary who married a Cambridge man. Artifacts from her time in Africa are displayed along with her book. Recently, I had that chance to meet one of her daughters and discuss Ms. Vesby. This conversation gave me an inside look into her life and the struggles that she faced. Living in a small farming town was difficult on a woman that yearned to travel. I always walk away with a richer understanding of Cambridge. KPHS is run solely by volunteers and it is incredible to work with people who are so dedicated to public history. The patrons are just as curious.

The biggest task I have done at KPHS is starting a cataloging system. This past week KPHS found out that they had received a grant from the Wisconsin Council for Local History to purchase PastPerfect, a museum cataloging software. Before this, KPHS did not have a cataloging system to account for their vast collection. Over the past month, I have worked to create a worksheet to be used for each item in preparation for the software. This worksheet includes crucial things like titles, descriptions, condition, dimensions, and date/person it was donated by. With any new item that comes in, KPHS will be able to record who donated it and when it was donated. KPHS will be able to have a fuller record of all of their items.

My hours that are not spent at KPHS are spent researching and reading. I have read many books on the history of Cambridge and notable people from Cambridge. Since I am not from Cambridge, it has really helped me gain knowledge about the town. I have drawn on this newly learned knowledge many times when talking to patrons. I have also done write-ups on various displays for visitors to read when there are not docents around. I will be working with my supervisor, Janice Redford, to expand my write up on Ole Evinrude to have published in the Cambridge newspaper.

Cambridge is a town that understands its vast history and has dedicated volunteers and patrons that want to contribute to this history. Working at a historical society is a new experience for me. I am confident that the interactions I have had and the projects I have worked on have been great learning experiences that will benefit me in future museum work.

--Mara Champagne